Hanger bar construction



July 29, 1969 ZEMAN ET AL HANGER BAR CONSTRUCTION Filed March 15, 1967 ,jiz/azzon-s. Jmasz' Ze m 5. Zaww. ya jf mn, 22. M5.

United States Patent 3,458,051 HANGER BAR CONSTRUCTION James R. Zeman, Riverside, and William E. Zeman, Palatine, Ill., assignors to Zeman Manufacturing Company, La Grange, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed Mar. 15, 1967, Ser. No. 623,266 Int. Cl. A47g 25/04, 25/06 U.S. Cl. 211-124 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An improved construction for supporting garment hangers within a shipping container. A U-shaped supporting channel member, from which the hangers are hung, has a bendable ear near one end and a longitudinal slot near the other. A continuous V-shaped securing member overlies the channel member. A pair of tabs at the ends of the securing member cooperate with the ear and the slot to hold the securing member firmly against the channel member and garment hanger hooks.

The present invention relates to an improved hanger bar construction. While the invention is useful in numerous applications, it has particular utility in those circumstances where it is necessary to insure that garment hanger hooks will be maintained firmly in place on a main supporting member. Thus the present invention is especially suitable for use in garment shipping containers, movers cartons, and like environments.

A typical conventional hanger bar construction for use in shipping containers is disclosed in United States Patent No. 2,870,917, issued Jan. 27, 1959. Such constructions have proved unsatisfactory, however, in that the garment hangers are able to slip off the bar when the container is subjected to rough handling. Numerous means for holding the hangers in place on the bar have been devised, but these have been characterized either by unsatisfactory performance, or by undue complication and expense. Accordingly, there has arisen a, need for a hanger bar construction which has the capability of maintaining the hangers in place under extreme handling conditions, and yet may be simply and inexpensively fabricated and installed.

The present invention fills this need by providing a main channel member, from which the hangers are hung, in combination with a securing member adapted to fit over the convex surface of the channel member to hold the hangers in place. Holding means are provided at the extreme ends of the securing member and near the ends of the channel member. The position of these holding means with respect to the securing member is particularly significant, since it permits the securing member to have a continuous securing contact with the hangers and channel member over nearly the entirety of the latters length. Moreover, placement of the garment hangers is virtually unobstructed, and the securing means may be installed with a minimum of inconvenience. In addition, due to the novel construction of the holding means, the necessity for bending metal parts is minimized, and the useful life of the hanger bar greatly extended.

The invention will be more fully understood by considering the following description, with illustrative reference to the drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a top view of the embodiment of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view, somewhat enlarged, taken about the line 33 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view, somewhat enlarged, taken about the line 4-4 in FIGURE 1;

Patented July 29, 1969 FIGURE 5 is a side sectional view of the right-hand portion of FIGURE 1, showing additionally how various elements are fitted together; and

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 5, except that the elements are in final fitted configuration.

Description of exemplary embodiment With specific reference to FIGURES 1 and 2, there is shown an exemplary embodiment of a hanger bar construction, generally denoted by the numeral 10, in accordance with the present invention. The hanger bar construction 10 is designed to support a garment hanger 12 within a shipping container, of which latter only the bar supporting portions 14 are shown.

The hanger bar construction 10 essentially comprises a channel member 20 and a securing member 30. The channel member 20 is preferably U-shaped, although any cross-sectional configuration suitable for supporting hanger hooks may be employed. The ends of the channel member 20 are curved to provide supporting fixtures 21 and 22, which rest on the supporting portions 14 of the shipping container. Note that the supporting fixtures 21 and 22 are designed so that the convex surface of the channel member 20 is positioned upwardly. Near the ends of the channel member 20, on the convex surface thereof, are an ear 25 and a longitudinal slot 26. The ear 25 is preferably formed from bending material from a cutout portion 27 in the convex surface of the channel member 20. Also formed on the convex surface of the channel member 20 are protuberances 23 and 24 which serve to separate the garment hangers and serve to provide engaging surfaces for the securing member 30.

The securing member 30, as shown, is a continuous, unbroken element having a shallow V-shape. Although the V-shape is preferable, any cross-sectional configuration may be employed which will enable the securing member 30 to press firmly against the protuberances 23 and 24 and the hanger hook 12. This firmly engaging relationship of the securing member 30, the protuberance 23, the hanger 12 and the channel member 20 is best shown in FIGURE 4. It should be understood, of course, that the protuberances 23 and 24 could be omitted, and in such case the securing member 30 would engage only the hanger 12 and those portions of the convex surface of the channel member 20 where it begins to flatten out, as at 28 and 29.

As best shown in FIGURES 5 and 6, the securing member 30 has at its extreme right end a circular web 32. joined to the securing member by a narrow neck 32a. The tab 32 and the neck 32a are dimensioned and shaped such that the tab can be inserted into the slot 26 in the channel member 20 when the securing member 30 is positioned at an acute angle to the channel member. As shown in FIGURE 5, this angle is essentially vertical, but this is for purposes of illustration only. The significant dimensional relationship of the tab 32 and the slot 26 is such that the tab may be inserted into or withdrawn from the slot only when the securing member 30 is moved away from its final position overlying the channel member 20. When the securing member 30 overlies the channel member 20, as in FIGURE 6, the tab 32 cannot be withdrawn from the slot 26.

At the other end of the securing member 30 is a rectangular tab 31. Once the circular tab 32 has been positioned within the slot 26, the rectangular tab 31 is moved into position under the ear 25. This is most efiectively accomplished by moving the securing member 30 sideways so that the tab 31 slides under the ear 25. The relationship of the circular tab 32 and the slot 26 allows substantial horizontal pivoting of the securing member 30.

The relationship of the tab 31 and the ear 25 is best shown in FIGURE 3. The car 25 may be bent downward slightly from the position shown in FIGURE 3 in order to lock the tab 31 securely in place. It should be appreciated that the car 25 is the only element in the entire construction which needs to be bent at all; and since the required degree of bending is very slight, the useful life of the hanger bar construction is much increased. Unlocking of the ear 25 from the tab 31 may be accomplished by manually bending the ear slightly upwardly, or by twisting the securing member 30 so that it exerts an upward bending force on the ear.

Due to the novel features of construction and design, placement of the securing member 30 over the channel member 20 is greatly facilitated. In addition, the fact that the tabs 31 and 32 are located at the extreme ends of the securing member 30 results in a continuous, unbroken contact surface between the securing member 30 and the elements which is overlies.

Although an embodiment constructed in accordance with the present invention has been described with the requisite particularity, the disclosure is of course only exemplary. Consequently, numerous changes in details of construction, in size, configuration and arrangement of components and materials, and in modes of application will be apparent to those familiar with the art and may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the in vention as set forth in the following claim.

What is claimed is:

1. A hanger bar construction comprising: a channel member having appropriate cross-sectional shape and dimension to accommodate hanger hooks; a support member at each end of said channel member; a plurality of hanger-spacing protuberances in the convex surface of said channel member; a bendable ear affixed to said convex surface near one end of said channel member; a relatively short longitudinal slot in said convex surface near the other end of said channel member; a securing member adapted to overlie said convex surface of said channel member; a first tab at one end of said securing member adapted to underlie and be secured by said ear; and a second tab at the other end of said securing member and coextensive therewith, said second tab being shaped for vertical planar insertion into said slot and for horizontal planar holding within said slot.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 627,077 6/1899 Gorrell 21189 2,616,133 11/1952 Peters 2117 XR 2,788,888 4/1957 Fisk. 2,796,977 6/ 1957 Divine. 2,807,354 9/1957 Belsinger. 2,993,602 7/1961 Zeman. 3,112,027 11/1963 Field. 3,118,542 1/1964 Lewis 211-124 XR 3,162,314 12/1964 Belsinger. 3,298,503 l/1967 Field. 3,306,465 2/1967 Brennan.

ROY D. FRAZlER, Primary Examiner A. FRANKEL, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 2067; 2ll--105.2 

